Michael Smith ended the run of Nathan Aspinall to reach his first PDC World Darts Championship final at Alexandra Palace.
Both men were playing in the last four for the first time, but 10th seed Smith had the pedigree against debutant Aspinall and made it count to win 6-3.
Smith made a tremendous start and took a 2-0 lead, but Aspinall fought back to level at 2-2 and then again for 3-3.
But Smith was relentless in his scoring and clinched victory at the first attempt with a 121 checkout.
"I'm one match away from living my dream." An overjoyed Michael Smith shares his thoughts after his 6-3 semi-final win over Nathan Aspinall... pic.twitter.com/0rvGvLP1Se — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 30, 2018
Smith averaged 105.22, hit 17 180s – an individual record in a World Championship semi-final – and had a checkout percentage of 51.11.
An emotional Smith, who will play the winner of the match between Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen in Tuesday's final, said on Sky Sports: "I've never felt like that ever. I'm so happy, I don't know what to say. I just took my chances when they came.
"I nearly made a mess of myself tonight, it felt like I was going to give birth to an ostrich egg or something. I was so nervous but I'm so happy I held it together. I'm one step away from living my dream."
Aspinall had no regrets at the end of his brilliant run, saying: "I've enjoyed every single minute of it. I never thought I'd get to the semi-final.
"It wasn't my night but I'm so happy to be involved in a quality game. I wish Michael all the luck in the world because he deserves to win this."
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